U.S. Women Fall to Canada in Final Games of U18 & U22 Series

Amanda Thiele (Milford, Mich.) made 19 saves as the U.S. Under-18 Women's Select Team fell to Canada, 2-0, in the final game of the series. The Under-18 Select Team finishes with a (0-1-0-2) record against Canada in the 2019 Under-18 series.

"I loved our first period," said Maura Crowell, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "We were fast and aggressive, but we didn't necessarily convert on some of those close chances. We weren't as polished in the second and they scored two opportunistic goals. You take those turnovers out of the game and I think it was very competitive."

The U.S. and Canada held each other scoreless in the first period. Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) kickstarted an offensive surge for Team USA late in the first period after she ripped a slap shot on net that was knocked away by Canadian goaltender Ève Gascon. Murphy and captain Makenna Webster (St. Louis, Mo.) kept the pressure after Webster landed a shot on target and Murphy followed up with a shot off the rebound with less than five minutes to play in the first.

Thiele stopped a Canada breakaway and made another save on the rebound to keep the score 0-0 at the 12-minute mark of the second period. Canada scored two goals in three minutes to establish a 2-0 lead going into the third period.

Kiara Zanon (Rochester, N.Y.) had the chance to put Team USA on the board with less than five minutes to play in third period, but her back-door shot missed just wide of the net. With 2:22 remaining on the clock, Webster had another good opportunity for Team USA, but could not find the back of the net and the game ended 2-0 in favor of Canada.

The U.S. Under-22 Women's Select Team fell to Canada, 2-1, in its final game of the 2019 Under-22 series.

"It would have been nice to get the sweep," said Joel Johnson, head coach of the U.S. Under-22 Select Team. "But Canada is a really tough competitor. We had a lot of good chances that didn't go our way in the end. I'm really proud of our team and how we competed this series."

Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period after Sarah Fillier scored back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart.

Dominique Petrie (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) almost put Team USA on the board with seconds to go in the first when Britta Curl (Bismark, N.D.) fed the puck across Canada's crease to Petrie's stick, but it was kicked aside by Canadian goaltender Kendra Woodland.

After a scoreless 15 minutes of play to start the second period, Emily Brown (Blaine, Minn.) scored a power-play goal with less than five minutes to play in the middle frame to cut Canada's lead in half, 2-1.

The U.S. came out strong on offense in the third period. Just over five minutes into the third, Team USA had a flurry of shots on goal, but Canada maintained a 2-1 advantage. Team USA outshot Canada 9-6 in the third period, 28-20, overall but Canada held on to take the final game of the series, 2-1.